THE Supreme Court has called the CBI a caged parrot speaking in its masters voice. It is indeed unfortunate that,in spite of the historic judgment in the Vineet Narain case,the CBI and the CVC have remained totally subservient to the Centre. One wonders why the CBI continues to be governed under the archaic Delhi Special Police Establishment Act,1946. Further,the controversial single directive,which means the CBI has to seek the executives sanction before proceeding against a public servant of the rank of joint secretary and above,was shot down by the SC in the Vineet Narain verdict,but the practice was retained. It is hoped that the new law recommended by the SC to insulate the CBI from political control will take care of this. Perhaps the CBI should be restructured on the lines of the FBI.

 Hemant Kumar Chandigarh

Guilty party

THIS refers to Pratap Bhanu Mehtas perceptive piece,Phantom democracy (IE,May 9). Both the CBI and the prime ministers office have caused considerable damage to the integrity of their respective institutions. Immediate steps could have been taken to sack the guilty officials. But senior leaders were hesitant to do so,perhaps because the officials were acting to protect their political bosses.

 Y.G. Chouksey Pune

THE editorial The unravelling (IE,May 9),was accurate. The UPA is under tremendous pressure from all quarters. The Supreme Courts censure after it came to light that the CBI status report had been vetted by the government may have had some effect,but the Congress has brazenly put off taking action against the ministers implicated. Ashwani Kumar protests his innocence. As the editorial points out,Now,no matter what measures the government takes,they will be seen to be under duress,and not born out of moral conviction. The government must now demonstrate humility.

 Yash P. Verma Pune

Poll promise

THE Congress has upset all calculations with its spectacular win in the Karnataka elections. When the elections were announced,there were confusing signals and it was expected that no party would win a clear majority. The Congresss win proves that the people of Karnataka yearned for a change after being let down by the BJP. Much of the credit should go to K. Siddaramaiah,opposition leader in the assembly,and the state Congress chief,G. Parameshwar,who galvanised the local party workers. Both are strong contenders for the post of chief minister. The party high command would do well not to foist its own choice of leader on the state. It should be decided in a democratic manner by the party legislature. The Congress must not waste this chance to secure its place with the voters. It should avoid infighting,and provide a clean and stable government. At the national level,the party may feel buoyed up by the win,although the results are not a reflection of UPA policies.